"Wire" usually refers to a central electrical conductor surrounded by a layer of insulation, while "cable" usually refers to a central conductor surrounded by insulation, with a second conductor of foil or braid surrounding the first layer of insulation and a second layer of insulation surrounding the second conductor. "Wire" and "cable" at times may be used herein interchangeably, as will be clear from the context.
One type of wire stripper long known in the art comprises a pair of opposed blades having handles at one end thereof, which handles are pivotally attached together between the blade ends and the handle ends. The blades have opposed, aligned pairs of sharp notches along their lengths such that when the blades are manually urged together, a selected pair of notches closes about, and cuts through, the insulation on a wire. Rotating the stripper in its closed position in a circular motion of at least 180 degrees about the wire in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the wire severs the insulation and allows it to be pulled off the end of the wire. The pairs of notches are variously sized to cut insulation on wires or cables of several different diameters. While this type of wire stripper is somewhat satisfactory, it is inconvenient to use, in part, because of limitations of a human arm and wrist in rotating the stripper. Such type of wire stripper is also relatively expensive to construct.
A recent development in wire strippers has provided a wire stripper of molded plastic material which is generally in the shape of a clothespin, with the proximal ends of two straight members being biased together by an integral spring member, the bridging member being put in a tensioned state by means of the manual forcing together of the distal ends of the straight members. Removably disposed in the proximal end of one of the straight members is a cassette containing two cutting blades in selected positions. In use, the stripper is "opened" by the manual forcing together of the distal ends of the straight members, the cable is placed against a stop in the other one of the straight members, and the distal ends of the straight members are released so as to bring the cable in cutting engagement with the blades. Relative rotation of the wire stripper and the cable about the axis of the latter causes the cutting through of the outer and inner layers of the cable.
While the body of the latter wire stripper is relatively economically manufactured, the cassette required represents a second part to be manufactured and additional manufacturing expense.
Another disadvantage of that wire stripper is that the positions of the cuts are predetermined by the relative positions of the cutting blades and the stop and cannot be changed without changing-the cassette. Even then, the degree of flexibility in choosing positions is somewhat limited.
A further disadvantage of that wire stripper is that it is difficult to rotate around the cable with one finger.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a wire stripper that is easy to use and economical to manufacture.
It is a further object of the invention to provide such a wire stripper that is of one piece construction.
Other objects of the present invention, as well as particular features, elements, and advantages thereof, will be elucidated in, or be apparent from, the following description and the accompanying drawing figures.